During the last forty years, considerable effort has been extended to improve the durability of main power train components of engines such as pistons, rings and bearings. Exhaust gas emission regulations, engine performance and engine life have been the main measures of these improvements.
There is now a need for improving systems which arc supplemental to the power train such as cooling systems and steering systems.
Water pumps remain as one of the leading replacement components in supplemental power train systems with bearing design failures and fluid contamination being main contributing factors in water pump damage. Fluid contamination is the result of little or no filtration capacity in cooling systems, settling of recirculating contaminants being the main phenomenon relied on to reduce particulate contamination. With respect to diesel engines, reducing sediment in engine coolant is a serious concern because cylinder liner cavitation is a major cause of premature failure that reduces engine life. With respect to gasoline engines, gasoline engine life has of late been extended considerably, and it is therefore necessary to extend the long-term cooling characteristics in gasoline engine blocks. Uneven cylinder cooling leads to exhaust gas emission changes, while uniform changes among the cylinders of an engine improves fuel economy and engine durability.
By reducing sediment, radiator life is extended, which improves heat transfer for a longer period of time. With modern automotive engines, radiator cooling loads have increased while engine compartments have gotten smaller due to high heat output of engines and increased transmission demands resulting from continuing improvements and attempted improvements in efficiency.
Since thermal transfer of heat is directly impacted by internal surface coatings of sludge and scale in radiators in engine blocks, eliminating these unwanted coatings is essential.
While internal combustion engine cooling systems are of primary concern, there are concerns regarding other cooling arrangements for other systems such as transmissions and lubricating systems, as well as heat exchangers in general, especially industrial heat exchangers.